Steam iron

ABSTRACT

The invention is for use in a steam iron of the generally standard type using the elongated water tank and steam generating soleplate with ports therein. In such an iron an improvement is provided in a selfcleaning feature in order to clean the water tank and comprising a substantially large opening in the tank in addition to the usual fill opening. The large opening is disposed in at least one wall of the tank with at least part of the opening being a smooth flow continuation of an adjacent wall of the tank. A tube means, which may be resilient, connects the large opening with the outer iron surface and quick-acting valve means controls the large opening, the parts being disposed so that the opening is the low point of the tank in a selected position of the iron so that it may be suddenly and rapidly dumped. The draining may be controlled by a button on the side of the iron and/or adjacent the handle.

United States Patent 1 Busby Mar. 11, 1975 STEAM IRON [75] Inventor: Llewellyn D. Busby, Upland, Calif.

[73] Assignee: General Electric Company [22] Filed: Jan. 30, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 437,851

Primary Examiner-Patrick D. Lawson Attorney, Agent, or Firm-John F. Cullen; George R. Powers; Leonard J. Platt [57] ABSTRACT The invention is for use in a steam iron of the generally standard type using the elongated water tank and steam generating soleplate with ports therein. In such an iron an improvement is provided in a selfcleaning feature in order to clean the water tank and comprising a substantially large opening in the tank in addition to the usual fill opening. The large opening is disposed in at least one wall of the tank with at least part of the opening being a smooth flow continuation of an adjacent wall of the tank. A tube means, which may be resilient, connects the large opening with the outer iron surface and quick-acting valve means controls the large opening, the parts being disposed so that the opening is the low point of the tank in a selected position of the iron so that it may be suddenly and rapidly dumped. The draining may be controlled by a button on the side of the iron and/0r adjacent the handle.

7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures 2a 52 M sa STEAM IRON BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The invention herein pertains to a steam iron and, more particularly, to a steam iron of the conventional type which utilizes structure for self-cleaning the iron tank whereby the water in the tank may be suddenly and rapidly dumped in a selected position of the iron to clean and empty the tank.

2. Description of the Prior Art With the advent of irons using water for either steam or spray purposes or both, it is customary to provide an elongated water tank above the soleplate and use a water valve to provide controlled and metered water drippage into a steam boiler where it flashes to steam and is directed out ports in the soleplate to steam the article. This is known as the flash boiler steam iron and is typical of most steam irons today. Generally, distilled water is used in such steam irons because of the fine ness of the various water passages and orifices which are subjected to clogging due to the mineral deposits from the water which vary from one locality to another. In addition, the steam ports in the soleplate tend to collect lint from the ironing operation and some of this lint may subsequently find its way into the internal passage structure when the iron is upended and not in use. In hostile hard-water localities, the tap water contains minerals which produce loose flakes and deposits that plate out on the iron components and clog the fine passages in the iron. These deposits generally consist of lime or calcium carbonate as well as other chemicals that are in solution or may be in relatively large flakeform in the water. Various screens have been used to clear the flakes but even these screens plug up. Irons have been made which provide for an extra blast of steam through the soleplates by additional water being pumped into other generating boilers and being forced out to the soleplate ports to clear them of lint. Some irons have provided means whereby brushes or other cleaning implements may be used at least partially to free the passages of impurities but these may require removal of plugs or the equivalent as well as the additional time and scrubbing action necessary on the part of the user. A recent improvement by Applicants assignee as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,747,241 provides a means whereby the water tank may be suddenly dumped either on the hot soleplate or elsewhere out of the iron to create a sudden purging of the iron which is enhanced if pressure is employed and irons of this type have been in the vanguard of the so-called selfcleaning steam irons.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly described, the present invention is directed to a steam iron that has a steam control means and a fill opening to an interior elongated water tank with a steam generating soleplate and ports therein and which uses an on and off water valve to control a metered flow of water from the tank to generate steam in the fashion of a flash boiler steam iron. In such a steam iron. the invention provides an improvement and means to clean the tank comprising a substantially large opening in the tank in addition to the usual fill opening with the large opening being disposed in at least one wall of the tank and with at least part of the opening being a smooth flow continuation of an adjacent wall of the tank. The large opening may be connected by a resilient tube to the outer surface of the iron and a quick-acting valve controls opening and closing of the large opening such as by squeezing the tube closed. The parts are disposed so that the opening is at the low point in at least the minimum water head position ofthe water tank so that it may be drained suddenly and rapidly by a simple button control. In other words, the opening is located at the lowest point of the tank in either a selected heel rest position or ironing position of the iron. Thus, the main object of the invention is to provide an improvement to any steam iron to rapidly dump the water tank in a quick action to completely clean at least the tank portion of the iron and make it self-cleaning.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective of a typical iron showing the control for the self-cleaning feature;

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-section through the rear of the iron tank portion showing a quick-opening valve in the closed position;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the valve in the open or self-cleaning position; and

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view on line 4-4 in FIG. 3 showing the quick-acting valve.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The invention will be described in connection with a typical spray-steam iron of either the power or manual type although the invention is applicable to steam irons alone of the flooded boiler type as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,156,054, non-flash boiler type shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,810,218, both of common assignment, or the more common flash boiler type described herein with or without the spray attachment. Also, it will be apparent the invention is applicable to the pressurized or non-pressurized irons. The invention discloses a form of self-cleaning iron where, on pushing a button, the water in the tank can be suddenly and rapidly dumped as in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,747,241 to flush out any loose mineral deposits or flakes contained in the water. Referring first to FIG. 1, there is shown a steam iron that includes soleplate 10 having plural steam ports 12 and outer shell 14 connected in any suitable manner to handle 16 all in known fashion. Soleplate 10 may be cast aluminum with an electrical heating element cast in position and extending in a loop beginning at the rear of the iron along one side to the forward end and rearwardly along the other side. Thus, substantially uniform heat distribution is provided to the soleplate.

Referring to FIG. 2, the iron includes means for generating ironing steam by providing interior water tank 18 in the form of the usually elongated flat type with its minimum dimension in the vertical direction 20 when the iron is in the ironing position as shown in FIG. 2. Soleplate 10 has a steam generator cavity or boiler to receive metered water under control of a water valve structure generally well-known and activated by steam control means such as button 22. Water is metered through an orifice from tank 18 into the soleplate boiler with the resulting steam being distributed and directed through coverplate passages and out ports 12 onto the fabric being ironed. An additional spray attachment may be operated by control button 24 and may be manual or powered as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos.

3,183,611 and 3,041,757 respectively of common assignment. The fill opening 26 permits the water tank 18 to be filled when the iron is upended to the heel rest position to provide a source of fluid for steam generation. The structure thus far described is common and wellknown to many steam irons and is fully shown in the referenced patents.

In many irons, it is customary to drain the iron after operation by turning it nose down and allowing the remaining water to drain out fill opening 26. Tanks are not always emptied completely. In the iron shown in US. Pat. No. 3,747,241, this operation is unnecessary and the iron is completely self-cleaning as described therein. The present invention is directed to another form of self-cleaning by which the water tank may be completely and quickly drained so that at least any chemicals or solutions in the wateror large flakes in the tank may be easily removed.

In order to completely and quickly drain the water, a standard flat elongated water tank 18 is provided with a substantially large opening 28 that is separate from and in addition to the usual fill opening 26 at the front of the tank. This opening is defined as substantial and is in addition to and separate from the fill opening and is differentiated from and completely bypasses the small restricted flow metering orifice in the customary water control valve. Many equivalent forms may be used to provide this large opening but preferably, it is in the form of an additional separate and distinctly spaced opening 28 provided in at least one wall of the tank, such as the top wall 30 shown in FIG. 2. The opening is so disposed that at least part of the opening forms a smooth flow continuation of an adjacent wall of the tank such as vertical wall 32. The smooth flow continuation means, in effect, that the opening continues on from the adjacent wall 32 so that, when the iron is in its vertical heel rest position, all the water will flow out the low point at the opening. Thus, the opening may be in the vertical side wall 34, end wall 32, top wall 30 as shown, or even in the bottom wall of tank 18 providing the opening is disposed to provide a smooth flow continuation of an adjacent wall of the tank. In the one form, as shown in FIG. 2, the opening is shown in top wall 30 and its smooth flow continuation is shown along adjacent wall 32. The substance of these limitations is merely that the opening is the low point of the water tank in the draining position. In addition, in nonpressurized irons it is desirable that the opening at the low point also be disposed to take advantage of the pressure of the maximum head of water available at any given time or selected iron position i.e. in heel rest position or in ironing position. Clearly, under any condition, the maximum head of water is available when a standard-type iron is in its upright or heel rest position or in that position and then tilted slightly to one side. As applied to the specific form of FIG. 2, when the iron is in heel rest position, wall 30 becomes substantially a vertical wall with the large opening 28 therein and the tube 36 connected to the opening completely drains the tank only in this maximum water head position. In this position, it will be seen that the maximum height of water is available to exert pressure on the opening. While water will exit the tank in the normal ironing position if the opening is provided at the dotted portion shown in FIG. 2 where the head of water will obviously be minimal, it is not as rapid with the extra pressure obtained by putting the iron on its heel rest position as shown in FIG. 2 with the water exiting opening 28 under the pressure of a higher head of water. Thus, the opening must be at the low point in at least the minimum water head position as shown dotted in FIG. 2 and is preferably in the maximum water head position as shown solid in FIG. 2 where the iron is upended before it is drained. In other words, the opening is located at the lowest point of the tank as in the solid lines in FIG. 2 if the position for emptying the tank is selected to be the heel rest position or, alternatively, it may be in a different wall as shown dotted in FIG. 2 if the selected position to empty the tank is the horizontal or ironing position. This is of advantage in the non-pressurized versions where the pressure of the head of water is used to expel the water.

In order to suddenly and rapidly dump the water tank for cleaning, the large opening 28 is tube-connected to the outer surface of the iron and this may be done conveniently by a resilient tube 36 of any suitable elastomer and merely squeezed shut by a quick-acting valve 38 as shown in FIG. 4. This is merely a guided member 40 spanning the resilient tubing 36 and movable in a vertical direction by rod 42 as actuated by button 44 controlled from the handle. Notch 46 locks the rod 42 in the closed position shown in FIG. 2 from which it may be released to the open position shown in FIG. 3 in the same manner steam control button 22 operates. Thus, the tank water is dumped from the rear or heel of the iron through outlet 48 as controlled by the quickacting valve 38. In order to utilize the same structure for a dual purpose, the usual sight gauge 42 may be connected to the tube 36 as shown.

Thus, the invention is directed to a simple means to thoroughly clean the iron water tank by a simple structure that directly connects with the outside of the iron through an opening that is always at the low point of the water tank and which may use the maximum water head depending on the position of the iron. The opening utilizes at least two walls of the iron tank and therefore always drains the tank completely. It will be apparent that, in a pressurized iron, opening valve 38 will blow out the contents of the water tank rapidly whereas, in a non-pressurized iron, the head of water may be used to apply pressure to help drain the tank rapidly and suddenly. The invention therefor provides a simple way of emptying the water tank and providing a self-cleaning action to at least the tank for cleaner and better ironing operation.

While there have been shown preferred forms of the invention, obvious equivalent variations are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practised otherwise than as specifically described, and the claims are intended to cover such equivalent variations.

I claim:

1. In a steam iron having steam control means, a fill opening to an interior elongated water tank and a steam generating soleplate with ports therein, the improvement in means to clean said tank comprising,

a substantially large opening in said tank in addition to the fill opening,

said large opening being disposed in at least one wall of said tank with at least part of said opening being a smooth flow continuation of an adjacent wall of said tank, and said opening being located at the lowest point of said tank in a selected position of the iron, and

valve means to control said large opening,

whereby said tank may be drained through said opening on operation of said valve means when the iron is in said selected position.

2. Apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein the valve means is a quick-acting valve so the tank can be suddenly and rapidly dumped.

3. Apparatus as described in claim 2 wherein the large opening is disposed in one ofthe substantially vertical tank walls when the iron is in heel rest position.

4. Apparatus as described in claim 3 wherein the tank only in heel rest maximum water head position. 

1. In a steam iron having steam control means, a fill opening to an interior elongated water tank and a steam generating soleplate with ports therein, the improvement in means to clean said tank comprising, a substantially large opening in said tank in addition to the fill opening, said large opening being disposed in at least one wall of said tank with at least part of said opening being a smooth flow continuation of an adjacent wall of said tank, and said opening being located at the lowest point of said tank in a selected position of the iron, and valve means to control said large opening, whereby said tank may be drained through said opening on operation of said valve means when the iron is in said selected position.
 1. In a steam iron having steam control means, a fill opening to an interior elongated water tank and a steam generating soleplate with ports therein, the improvement in means to clean said tank comprising, a substantially large opening in said tank in addition to the fill opening, said large opening being disposed in at least one wall of said tank with at least part of said opening being a smooth flow continuation of an adjacent wall of said tank, and said opening being located at the lowest point of said tank in a selected position of the iron, and valve means to control said large opening, whereby said tank may be drained through said opening on operation of said valve means when the iron is in said selected position.
 2. Apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein the valve means is a quick-acting valve so the tank can be suddenly and rapidly dumped.
 3. Apparatus as described in claim 2 wherein the large opening is disposed in one of the substantially vertical tank walls when the iron is in heel rest position.
 4. Apparatus as described in claim 3 wherein the large opening is provided with a tube connected to the outer iron surface.
 5. Apparatus as described in claim 4 wherein the tube is resilient and the quick-acting valve is disposed to squeeze the tube closed.
 6. Apparatus as described in claim 5 wherein the tube means is directed out the rear of the iron and bottom means controlling the valve from said handle. 